trash turned art

I finished the biggest part of my new project. I'll post the finished piece later. This piece is for a show with FRINGE called "Make Art Not Trash".  It is made out of cardboard, magazines and paper. 5 minutes into cutting and gluing tiny pieces of paper, I thought I was going to hate this, but I ended up really enjoying the process. What do you think?

"Little Yellow House on the Hill" (working title) 2 x 2 feet

detail (the paper pieces are about the size of
my fingernail, some are smaller)

Zinky and Shadow

Yesterday we went to Kevin's friend's pool and played with his dogs all afternoon. I played with my new camera! Meet Zinky and Shadow... Zinky is the one with the white on his face, Shadow has the all black face. I'll probably make a recipe post and post about my new prints later this weekend, so check back soon. Have a good weekend!

CANONBALL!

Shadow

Zinky

JUMP! my favorite of the day

shake it off!

a quick glance in the garden

Our garden is blowing up from the recent rain! We have big strawberries and this mysterious pink flower vine thing that blooms at night. The flowers are only about an inch long. It is beautiful! Anyone know what it could be?

It looks kind of like a tiny hibiscus

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend!

2 prints and 3 sweet recipes

Yesterday I got up early and started to work printing my last piece for the Tulsa show. I successfully made two prints (8 editions each) from start to finish in one day. That's gotta be some kind of record. I'm pretty pleased with the way they turned out...especially the Route 66 one.

Well we have been taking advantage of fresh summer produce and haven't been cooking a lot lately aside from throwing stuff on the grill and lightly seasoning it. That's why there haven't been many new recipes to post. But we have been making some pretty awesome desserts when we aren't just eating berries and melon. So here they are...enjoy!

Fruit Pizza
Ingredients
1 roll of cookie dough (or enough homemade to make 2 dozen cookies)
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese (softened)
assorted sliced fruit (we used kiwis, strawberries, blueberries and nectarines)


Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Roll out dough until about 1/4" thick. I made two so the middle wasn't so doughy, but you can make one big one or minis. Place dough on greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-15 min or until golden. Let cool completely before icing. Combine marshmallow creme and cream cheese until smooth. Spread on cookies. Arrange fruit on top. Chill in fridge for at least an hour. 


Rocky Road Brownies
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 t. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
4-5 T. marshmallow creme


Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter. Mix in sugar and cocoa powder. Add vanilla and eggs and mix thoroughly. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to mixture. Stir in chips and nuts. I don't really measure the marshmallow. Just spoon on top in big globs and swirl in with a knife. Bake 20-25 min in a greased square baking pan. 


Grilled Peaches with Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

Ingredients
2 peaches cut in half
vanilla frozen yogurt
drizzle of honey
a few mint sprigs


Directions
Grill peaches cut side down on medium heat until the back feels soft. Set the peaches on top of a couple scoops of yogurt. Drizzle with honey and top with a mint sprig. I can think of countless ways to dress this up...dash of cinnamon and nutmeg, cobbler crumbles. I'm sure there are other ways to eat grilled peaches, but this was so easy and so good!


In other news our garden is doing great! Thanks for reading!

tiny strawberries!

Peppy loves his catnip!

green toes...green grass

Anniversary '11

6/13/09

We had a great Anniversary weekend! I should have been working on prints, but instead I laid by the pool, went to the farmer's market, out to dinner and a movie, another dinner... it was great! I've been catching up on my printing today, but I also had time to make us an Anniversary cake! Kevin made us an awesome dinner the other night and a delicious breakfast! Here are the recipes...


Kevin's Seared Yellowfin Tuna
Ingredients
2 thick yellowfin tuna fillets
blackened seasoning
2 T. honey
1 T. balsamic vinegar


Directions
Preheat grill on high. Season fish with blackened seasoning to your taste. Sear on first side 4 min. Whisk together honey and balsamic. Brush on fish and flip. Brush other side. Sear only 2-3 min on the other side.


Coconut French Toast with Grilled Pineapple
Ingredients

3 T. coconut milk
1 1/2 T. sugar
1 T. milk
2 eggs
4 slices bread
cooking spray
sliced pineapple
honey
handful toasted coconut (do not leave this out!)


Directions
Combine first 4 ingredients in a shallow dish. Coat both sides of bread in mixture and cook toast over medium/high heat. I just used a cookie sheet to "grill" the pineapple. Broil them in the oven about 5-7 min on each side. Make sure you watch them. Drizzle toasts with honey, top with pineapple and toasted coconut. I also added the coconut in between the toast layers too.


Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Filling and Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients

1/2 cup choc chips
3 T. butter
1/4 cup+2 T. sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup+2 T. flour
2 T. cocoa powder
1/4 t. baking soda
pinch salt
1/4 cup+2 T. water
6ish strawberries
2 T. strawberry jam
2/3 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
2 t. water


Directions
Preheat oven to 325. Melt chips and butter slowly in microwave, let cool to room temp. Beat in sugar, egg and vanilla. Combine baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and half the flour. Slowly add to mixture and mix well. Add remaining flour and water and mix well. Pour into a small 6" cake pan and bake 30-45 min. Let cool completely. Meanwhile slice strawberries and mix with jam. Torte the cake (aka:cut in half) and spread the strawberry mixture in between the layers. To make the icing beat cold butter on high until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and water. Beat on high 3-5 min until fluffy. Ice cake. Cool in fridge for at least an hour.


Notes
If you don't have a 6" cake pan you can double this recipe for cupcakes. Just adjust the oven temp to 350 and cooking time to 20-25 min. OR you can quadruple it and make two 9" cakes (that way you don't have to torte them). Temp at 350, 35-50 min. I made this little cake for our Anniversary! 

We like cake!

PS My first sunflower is blooming! How appropriate! 

our summer 2011 garden

I realized I haven't posted any pics of the garden yet. Here are just a few. I can't wait for my sunflowers to bloom! 

the sunflower buds are huge!

Dalias and white Salvia

Pep's catnip guarded by the scarecat, Mr. Barnabee

I'll probably post this weekend about our Anniversary and the cheese tasting class that we took. I'll also have a couple recipes and updates on my prints. Have a good week!

spring is here!

Chicken Picatta

Allrecipes

I think this is a Spring-like recipe. The flavors are fresh yet rich. It's not the easiest, but I just might think that because it's been so long since I've cooked chicken. I don't feel like typing the recipe out, so click on the link if you please. I didn't change anything except I cut the recipe in half. It was perfect. So good and filling!

My show on Friday went great. We got there late, and this is what was left of my work. Both pieces sold!!! They said over half the art sold and they raised over $7,000 for Pets and People! I'll find out soon if Lola and JoJo were adopted!

It was super nice all weekend. Yesterday we finally had a relaxing day. We both didn't have anywhere to be and it felt great! We went to the park and sprawled out on a blanket in the 83 degree sun! It was wonderful! It's supposed to be nice all week with a couple of rainy days. I'm so happy that spring is finally here. We have plans to plant herbs and flowers next weekend. 

Kev took this picture of a daffodil.
(no photoshop) I love it!

I could do this everyday

mountain valentines, salmon, pizza, shortbread cookies and fondue...oh my

Get ready for a super long post. Just a warning. 

The only good picture of day
(aka: before I fell down the mountain)

We got back from Colorado on Tuesday. It had it's ups and downs, but overall it was a really great trip. Downs: Skiing (more like falling and crying uncontrollably) down a blue the first run of the first day, not a good idea. Even though I've been skiing more than once, I am way out of shape and should have started on the bunny slopes. The rest of the day was good despite being very sore. The other down was the second day. It started out good. I checked out early and spent the rest of the day on the deck in the sun with some hot tea. Kevin boarded all day and only fell once, but the one time he fell he forgot to zip up the pocket that had the video camera in it. So it disappeared forever. AND this was a borrowed camera, so now we have to buy a new one to replace it. Not good! But the ups outweighed the downs! We got to spend a lot more time with David, Priscilla and Georgia (oh and Teague)... Got to see Kevin's sister Kerri and husband George... Went to the Denver Museum of Science and Nature which had a planetarium!...Ate some delicious food out and in...And got some hot tub time (much needed). 

Denver pho

Kevin, Georgia and David

Priscilla and I with our Valentine scarves

Valentine breakfast courtesy of David

My doggie Valentine :)

And last but not least I have a few recipes to share. The first is a collaboration of 3 different recipes, the second is my first original cookie recipe!!! The third is what I am making for recipe club tomorrow, and last is our belated Valentine fondue. Enjoy!
Crispy Dijon Salmon
Ingredients
2 salmon fillets 
juice of 1 lemon
dash salt
drizzle of olive oil
1 T. dijon mustard
1/4 cup panko or other type of bread crumbs
1/2 T. dried Italian herbs
dash garlic powder
1/4 cup grated parmesan 


Directions
Coat a small baking dish with olive oil. Preheat oven 425. Place salmon in dish, squeeze lemon on top and sprinkle with salt. Spread the mustard evenly over the top of both pieces. In a small bowl mix together bread crumbs, herbs, garlic powder and parmesan. Top each piece of fish with a mound of the bread crumb mixture. Bake 20 min. 


Notes
This is a mixture of like 3 different recipes. It's an interesting flavor. Kevin loved it! It would be good with a good green veggie like broccoli or brussel sprouts.


Shortbread Sugar Cookies (my own recipe!!!)
Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 T. powdered sugar plus more for rolling
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. lemon extract
1/2 t. almond extract
2 cups flour


Directions
Cream butter and sugars. Add egg, vanilla, lemon and almond. Mix until well combined. Add flour and mix until a sticky dough forms. Coat hands in powdered sugar and roll dough into round disks. Place on greased cookie sheet and chill 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 325 and bake 15-18 min.


Notes
Yes, these disappear too fast to have a picture, but trust me they are beautiful little sugary treats to have with tea or anytime.


Quick Pizza Crust
Ingredients
1 1/4 t. active dry yeast
1 t. sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 T. dried Italian herbs
1 t. salt
2 T. olive oil


Directions
Preheat oven to 450. Dissolve yeast and sugar in water and let stand for 10 min. Stir together flour, salt and herbs. Add this to the water along with the olive oil. Beat until smooth and let rest for 5 min. Roll out on a floured surface, Top with favorite pizza toppings and bake on a cornmeal dusted pan 15-20 min. (You can also brush the crust with garlic butter...MMM!)


Notes
I made breadsticks out of this dough too. I added a little bit of garlic powder to the dough, brushed with garlic butter and added parmesan cheese on top. Just roll out like usual and cut into slices with a pizza cutter, bake only 10-15 min. 


Dark Chocolate Fondue
Ingredients
12 oz chopped dark chocolate (make sure it's NOT baking chocolate)
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
your favorite fruits, cubed pound cake, rice krispy treats, etc.

Directions
In a fondue pot slowly heat cream on low until bubbles form around edges. Pour in the chocolate stirring until melted and smooth. You can also add 1 T. of your favorite liquor such as Kahlua or raspberry schnapps. 

strawberries, pineapple, banana, blueberries
and pound cake for dipping

it's October...harvest time!

We harvested most of our herbs last night. I spent hours stripping stems of their leaves. In order from front and left to right: lavender, oregano in the first bowl, a few patchouli leaves, rosemary in the small yellow bowl, basil, then thyme in the green bowl, and peppermint in the back. 

That's not even a quarter of our mint. We have a long way to go on that. These are all laid out flat to dry for about a week. There's no way we can use it all, so we will be giving some of it away. Up next; planting fall time things like mums and pansies. We got two carving pumpkins yesterday too, so we will be making some jack-o-lanterns soon! Happy FALL!

updates: recipes, doodle news, etc.

Many recipes up in the last few days: tuna, eggplant, soups, pancakes, etc. I've been really busy the last week because I found out that I got into a show in Tulsa! That's the doodle news. See my piece that got in under the doodles tab. I've been busy prepping prints with sleeves and labels. 

The hubby and I had a nice excursion to see the stars last night, we went out to Arcadia. We just drove until we could see the stars. We took a blanket and some apple cider and watched the sky. It felt so good to feel small again and realize that this universe is so much bigger than we know. It also felt good to just be with Kevin. His new work schedule is making it tough for us to spend a lot of quality time together. Seeing the stars really made me miss living out in the country. I am definitely not a city girl. I got a couple pictures and changed the exposures up a bit. They're not great, but you can see the brightest of the stars. Strangely, there was no moon. I thought it was kind of creepy. Anyway, later this week or maybe next we're going out to the farm in Guthrie. I know we'll be able to see the stars out there, and we might even camp before the weather gets cold.

Tunes: Kevin's favorite band is The Flaming Lips. We've seen them in concert too many times to count, and Kevin was actually featured in their documentary The Fearless Freaks. Their newest album, Embryonic is my my favorite of theirs. I've been listening to it a lot lately. I love how garage grungy it sounds. 

A couple new things are in thoughts too.

Sgt. Pepper says hello!

drawing show and fair time

I have a charcoal piece up in a show at UCO. There are some other great artists in the show, and I feel honored to be a part of it. My piece is almost 5 feet tall; by far the largest piece in any medium for me. It will be up until mid October. 

Self Portrait Under Tree charcoal on paper

It's time for the state fair in Oklahoma! I love the fair! I usually get the wristband that costs $25 so I can ride all the rides as many times as I want, but this year money is a little tight. So we're either going tomorrow afternoon to see the barn animals and eat some food or I'll go with my mom on Monday when it's only $1 to get in. 

Kev on the crazy swings

And look at this giant strawberry!

home again, home again

I never realized how boring the drive through Kansas is. Nothing, seriously, there is nothing to see in Kansas. The only interesting things we saw were some funny billboards: the world's largest prairie dog and the ones that are messages from Jesus. 


We listened to two audio books. I posted some links to the bands' websites that we saw at Red Rocks. It was my first time there, and I was blown away. It is so beautiful! 


We hiked in the mountains with Kev's brother and his dog Teague. The altitude was really intense on my body. I would take 10 steps and feel like I had just sprinted miles. Next time we go, we definitely want to stay longer to get used to it. A glacier runoff lake in the middle of the Rockies? Yes please! A bit chilly and hard to hike in the altitude, but SO beautiful. I could totally live up here if I could skip the winter.

the sky is so much bluer

log where we stopped to eat lunch

purple mountain flowers

Teague

We stayed with Kevin's brother, his girlfriend and their little girl. They live right outside of Denver. It was so much fun, and I'm so thankful that they were willing to open their home to us. We love Georgia. She is so fun and so freakin cute! 


Kerri, Kevin's younger sister and her husband also live there, right in the middle of the city. We parked at their place and walked around Denver. Our first day there, we went to the Denver Art Museum which was so so awesome. Then they took us to eat at this awesome vegetarian pizza place. We had a lot of fun with them at the STS9 and Thievery show that night too. 


Overall it was a really fun and exhausting trip. We came back more tired than we were before we left. Next time we go, we are staying for a week or longer. That altitude sucks at first. Just when we started getting used to it, we had to leave. We squeezed in so much stuff in two days, but it was worth it. 



tunes: Ghostland Observatory, STS9, Thievery Corporation, and Red Rocks Amphitheater. Click the links, check them all out, fall in love.